Donegal Donkey Sanctuary

28/05/2026

Loving these sunny days! Perfect weather for donkey visits!
Opening hours
Tues -Saturday 12-30 - 4-30pm.
Sunday 1-30 - 4-30pm.
Closed Mondays except for Bank holidays.

08/05/2026

She’s back!! After a long winter of snoozing in her stable with new friends Viola and Iris we can expect some Rose antics soon. I would need a suit of armour for the charge across the field. Nerve wracking stuff!
Happy World Donkey day from Baby Rose❤️

05/05/2026

PLANNING UPDATE
An Coimisiún Pleanála - Unfortunately the objection has now been formally lodged with An Coimisiún Pleanála today and is posted on their website .
We would like to thank the vast number of people who have offered their support and also the many who called to the sanctuary over the weekend to express their disappointment that we once again find ourselves in this position with regard to our development plans. We would like to thank Donegal County Council for the efficient and thorough manner in which they handled our planning application. Also the many wonderful neighbours who have stood by us with regard to the unfairness of this objection and all previous ones.
We must trust that the highly professional people in An Coimisiún Pleanála will review the decision of Donegal County Council and hasten the end of this unfortunate business so that we can fully concentrate on our welfare work and the many animals who need our time and focus. We will post any new developments that occur over the coming months in order to keep our supporters fully informed. Thank you from all at DDS.

02/05/2026

APOLOGY - THIS IS A VERY LONG POST but we feel that we must share the happenings of the last few days with our supporters.
For the last couple of years our team have been working very hard towards obtaining planning permission here at the sanctuary with a view to creating an even better environment for the beautiful donkeys in our care.
Last July an objection was raised by a third party towards said planning and this has caused a huge delay in moving forward. Three weeks ago Donegal County Council passed our planning application with the stipulation that we move our entrance road a number of metres to the right in order to comply with new sight line guidelines. We need to emphasise at this point that this entrance road was originally passed for planning almost twenty years ago as it is in fact the road to our house. It is not a new entrance. Donegal County Council have been very efficient and meticulous in their handling of our application and we were overjoyed to finally receive the positive news that planning had been granted.
Unfortunately the couple (Alastair and Amelia Rankin Glenn) who are objecting are not satisfied with this decision and have taken the devastating and unbelievable decision to appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála (The Planning Commision) in Dublin in order to stop the development. After much soul searching we have made the decision to share this public document which is freely accessible to all on the Donegal County Council planning site.
The objectors own a piece of ground adjacent to the sanctuary. It is a field of approximately half an acre and planning permission was lost on it many years ago. Himself and his wife are resident in Northern Ireland and are using the address of a Lifford property on their objection which we believe to have been the gentleman’s childhood home.
This is not the first objection to the sanctuary lodged by this couple and their extended family, some of whom live close to the sanctuary. Please check out planning reference number 1260142 dated as far back as 2012. There are two significant documents in that planning document, submission by Alastair Glenn and also a letter from his extended family members under the heading ‘Supplement to MH Associates’.
We are absolutely gutted to have been put in this position by people who are not even resident in the locality and who have a history of serial objection to our very existence.
We now face a lengthy delay of possibly six months plus for a decision. Just to clarify the argument being put forward is that we need to seek sight lines from the property to the north which is in fact the objectors own property! It would be funny if it were not so serious. At the end of the day it is very sad that serial objectors can use the Planning Commision to fight an animal welfare organisation over a non existent grievance,
We have never publicly shared our difficulties in this regard before and indeed it goes against our core principles of maintaining a dignified silence in the face of any opposition to our valuable work but this latest setback is at the end of the day a strike against the donkeys and on that we will not stay silent.
Finally we would like to clarify a couple of possible questions which people may have.
1. Any substantial building work carried out at the sanctuary is always grant funded. Donations received from the public go directly towards donkey care.
2. Yes, we do in fact already have a visitor centre which is located in a barn originally intended to house donkeys. Creating a new visitor centre/classroom will free this barn and provide extra space and a better quality of life for our resident donkeys.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Your support is greatly appreciated.
From all at DDS.

05/04/2026

Happy Easter from all at DDS. All our residents are patiently waiting for better Spring weather and long days spent outdoors in the paddocks. Not to be this weekend with rain, hail and strong winds! Soon …😀

17/03/2026

Happy St Patrick’s Day from all at Donegal Donkey Sanctuary.🍀☘️🍀☘️🍀☘️
Let us know in the comments below where in the world you are celebrating?

15/03/2026

Happy Mothers Day to all our supporters. Here’s a ‘throwback’ photograph of a beautiful Mum & daughter from a few years ago. Both happily living in their forever home these days. ❤️

09/03/2026

https://gofund.me/17ee5f532
So delighted to report that we have almost reached €2k. Such good news for the donkeys. Thank you so much to all who have donated so far. We really need all followers and supporters to get behind us to help the donkeys.
Last week when we launched this campaign we could not have imagined how much costs would rise in one week. Diesel/feed and general running costs have all increased making this fundraiser more crucial than we could have ever imagined. At this time we need your support more than ever. It’s very hard to predict what will happen over the next number of weeks so must prepare for every eventuality.

08/03/2026

https://gofund.me/17ee5f532
We are hoping to order hay this week but are still short of our target. Please consider donating if you haven’t already done so. We need to keep our residents warm and fed until summer grazing commences. Thank you from all at DDS.

06/03/2026

https://gofund.me/17ee5f532
Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. We are 1/3 of the way towards our goal. Supplies of feed and bedding start to run very low at this time of year and we must ensure that all are kept warm and fed until longer days and summer grazing begin. Please help the donkeys to reach their goal. We owe it to each and everyone of them. Thank you once again.

Dear Supporter, As this long, wet winter drags on we find ourselves once again needing to reach… Sandra Curran needs your support for Winter Feed Appeal 2026